


Morning Lights

by Ononymous



Series: Christmas 2017 Stories and Requests [6]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Morning, Gen, Pre-Undertale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 06:38:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13208085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous
Summary: After his clandestine task the night before, Asgore usually has a lie in. Not this year, Undyne won't allow it.





	Morning Lights

**Author's Note:**

> Original Request: Asgore, Undyne and Alphys spend Christmas Morning together.

With a skill honed through countless hours of practice, Asgore gently replaced the plant in the pot, and covered it with soil. Just a little water and... wonderful. Now to let it bathe in the sun. So he carried it to the window and set it down, before quickly withdrawing his mighty arms into the cool darkness of the rest of the room. The golden petals seemed to glow as he allowed himself to look beyond to the busy street. Monsters going about their business, sitting under trees, chasing each other, laughing at jokes, practising their magic. All the while he took care not to look up at the sky, instead looking at two children dressed in green sitting by a lake.

"You could go out there too, Asgore," said Toriel, "you brought them this world."

"No Tori, dear," he said cheerily, "I've done too much. It is better they not linger on what this has cost. I don't deserve the sun. At least I've made them happy."

"Of course, honey," she giggled, "you are absolutely right, staying in the darkness all alone is exactly what you deserve. Well I am going to enjoy what your crimes have delivered us regardless. But before I do, you should answer the door."

Knock-knock-knock...

"Who could that be?" He walked to the door and opened it, trying not to look at the sapphire sky, but nobody was there.

Knock-knock-knock...

"Not that door, silly Gorey, the real door!"

"The real door? What-"

_Knock-knock-knock!_

He jerked awake in bed, the notion of witnessing something beautiful he had no right to draining away in confusion.

**KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!**

"Just a moment!" He shook the cobwebs of his mind clear and tried to remember where his dressing gown was. By the time he put it on and got to his hallway the door was shuddering violently. It must be urgent.

"Howdy, what can-"

"There you are!"

Undyne advanced into his house, causing him to step back automatically. She looked calm enough, so it must be serious.

"What's the matter? Has there been an accident?"

"Nah, I just decided you're not spending this morning alone _again_."

This morning? Oh, last night. He'd been giving out presents. "What made you think-"

"It's always the same, Fluffybuns! Everyone's opening presents and partying, and you just sleep half the day away! What the heck did you get up to last night anyway? You're normally pretty good at getting up early."

"Last night? Oh, I, um, I was watering my... Snow Tax adjustment policy."

"Right, right, boring paperwork crap. I get it, being King isn't all training. Well for once you're gonna enjoy today like everybody else! I've got all the presents and everything. And don't worry, I'm not just picking on you. Someone else needs my awesome guidance today too!"

It was then Asgore realised what she was carrying. Wrapped packages of various sizes in one arm, and a lizard trying to look him in the eye wrapped in the other.

"G-good morning, your m-majesty. M-Merry-"

"Fuhuhu! Dragged her out of the lab on my way here. Did you know she was actually just gonna work today? _Today?!_ I mean, it's awesome you're working so hard on breaking the barrier, Doc, but even I know when to stop and take a break!"

"Oh my, that's certainly correct, Undyne," he said automatically. "Doctor, you should take regular breaks, it's not good for your health to-"

"It's settled then! Go to your living room, mister!"

"But I-"

" **MARCH!** "

He found himself sitting in the chair by the fireplace, not quite sure how it happened. Undyne had deposited Alphys on a wooden chair, and was now examining the shabbily decorated tree in the corner of the room.

"Got a real homemade feel, these decorations. I like that! But no presents? Come on Asgore, you don't have to King so hard you miss out! But wait, before any presents, jumpers!"

"I'm sorry?"

Two woolly green packages zoomed towards the sitting monsters. Asgore caught his with surprising deftness, but Alphys suffered a direct hit to the face. As he looked back to Undyne, Asgore saw she had taken off her coat, revealing a bright purple jumper with mistletoe on it.

"Put 'em on!"

Alphys hopped to without question, trying to take off her lab coat to swap it for the jumper, getting tangled up in the process. Asgore took a moment to study his jumper. His own crudely knitted face with a bright red nose.

"...okay, I freed your tail. There, that looks great, Alphys!"

"Oh, th-thanks..." Alphys smiled with a trace of embarrassment at the "Nice in the streets..." on her chest, and craned her neck to see what the back said.

"Now Boss, you need any help with those horns...?" But as she turned to face him, the jumper was already donned, and two goofy grins projected into the room. "Awesome! You should wear that even when we're all back at work!"

"Hmm, perhaps, it's quite comfortable-"

"No time! Presents now! Catch- Oh wait, it's a bit big for throwing. Open it!"

Tugging him by the hand she led him to the largest box. Unwrapping and opening it, Asgore found something dark and metallic.

"New armour! I noticed your current set is rusting a little, so I got this made at the Barracks."

"Oh, that's very thoughtful, Undyne. Um, why is there a dent in the middle of the breastplate?"

"That's where I punched it. So you never forget it's from me!"

"Oh, I see."

Alphys had already opened her present of a not-quite-mint-condition figure of a human with cat ears, and was now approaching Asgore with a much smaller present. "H-here you go, s-sir." It was a book with a picture of a human with hair wilder than his own, and a sword that was half again as long as the human was. "Th-this is an account of a s-skilled warrior. I t-thought it might b-be useful if you b-break the barrier."

He closed his eyes for a moment, and reinforced his smile, flicking through the comic. "Thank you, Doctor. My, he must be skilled, he's holding it one-handed. There aren't many humans who can wield a blade like that, and they all did it two-handed."

"Oh, that's how he n-normally fights," she began to gush, "b-but when things get serious he has to concentrate his leylines and attune to the cosmic balance of the universe t-to protect his friends and that frees his other hand up and he first did it when his best friend from childhood was in danger and-"

She received a light punch on the shoulder. "Spoilers, Alphys! That said, the way you describe it sounds awesome, like it's full of passion!"

"Y-you think I make it sound good...?"

"Heck yeah!"

Alphys tried to look away from her, while Undyne in turn tried to make eye contact curiously. Asgore chuckled quietly, unnoticed by either of his guests. It had been a while since it had been so obvious to him...

"Hey Asgore, you got our presents now?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course. Forgive me, they aren't wrapped. The Slush Tax-"

"Snow Tax?"

"Yes, that, it kept me busy last night. I meant to wrap them after I got up. One moment..."

With gentle pleasant thumps he plodded into his bedroom, returning a minute later with a small velvet box and an old book.

"Doctor, it appears we're thinking along similar lines this year. This is an old human history book from before the war. You collect so many books about recent history, I thought something a little older may help put those in context."

She flicked through the pages. Not a single picture. "Oh, I s-see! Thank you, K-King Asgore."

"And Undyne, since you're so determined to get into the spirit-"

She snatched the box from him. Opening it revealed an eyepatch with a large Snowdin Tree on it.

"It may only be appropriate for this time of year, but-"

"AWESOME!"

She'd already swapped her normal patch for it. A red and green light started blinking.

"You know exactly what to get, Asgore! How do you manage that?"

"Oh, a lucky guess, I suppose. It is not like I can practice giving out presents all the time."

"Yeah, only Santa's got time for that."

"Indeed. Now, how about we have a cup of tea, and then we can watch-"

"No time! Gotta get ready, I invited the rest of the guard here for dinner!"

"The rest of- Undyne, I don't have anything prepared."

"You got me though, and I thought ahead!" From the one untouched box she started tossing ingredients onto the dining table. "To the kitchen!"

Half the ingredients vanished, and loud thumps started emerging from the now-opened doorway.

"Doctor, does Undyne seem a little... sedate today?"

"Oh, um, I t-think she's trying to be polite."

"Dammit, this oven only goes to 250 degrees. Time for the charcoal!"

"The- oh my."

Two saucepans were bubbling happily on the cooker as he entered the room. But their happiness was literally boiling away as Undyne kept raising the temperature.

"Gotta cook it faster! Hotter! **HOTTER!** ...uh, maybe that's too-"

Despite the oven firing at a hundred and fifty percent, all heat from it seemed to vanish. Confused for a moment, Undyne turned round to see a large furry hand outstretched at the averted disaster.

"...haste makes waste, Undyne."

"...yeah, I know. I just wanted to-"

"Yes, I know. Anyway, it's been fun to see what you get up to this morning." A half-forgotten memory occurred to him. "Would you be interested in seeing something special?"

"Sure!"

After making sure they waited on having enough tea, Asgore led the two of them down the stairs, across the large walkway giving a magnificent view of the festive looking city, and finally into the flower-crammed throne room. The three of them sat down, and the King served his tea.

"...okay, now what?"

"Give it... ten minutes or so."

They chatted about their various jobs, and what they were going to cook under a bit of royal supervision. It was as Undyne finished her fourth cup of tea out of boredom that it happened.

"Ah. It always looks wonderful."

The room began to brighten. The golden petals of the flowers shimmered and the walls shifted from murky grey to a slightly dusty cream colour. The two younger monsters looked around for the source.

"Th-there! That crack in the c-ceiling!"

"Well spotted, Doctor. I believe there are a series of crystals in that crack that travel all the way to the surface of the mountain. When the sun hits it at the right angle, which only happens once a year for fifteen minutes, it magnifies the light and sends it in here. Among other things, it's great for the flowers."

"Oh m-my, it feels so w-warm-"

Undyne seized Alphys and carried her into the middle of the room, basking in the magnified sunlight. They might have been children.

"Holy crap, this is amazing! This is what it feels like on the surface?!"

"Sort of. Many days it turns out to be wet."

"Well that's cool too!" In her delight she swung Alphys around while holding onto her arms, who blushed intensely at the unchecked affection. After a moment however, Undyne stopped.

"Hey Fluffybuns, how come you don't show this to people more often?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about it. Truthfully it's been a while since I came here."

"What?!"

It occured to Undyne that Asgore's tea table was in one of the few parts of the room not being basked in the light. The brightest part of that area was the teapot and the rare twinkle in his purple eyes.

"Get out here! Use it or lose it!"

"Oh, that's alright, you enjoy- WHOA!"

Undyne picked him up like she had Alphys, carried him over to the throne in the middle of the room and dumped him there.

"What, you can't say it doesn't feel nice, right?"

"Oh, it is, I just..." He didn't explain himself.

"Not quite like the real thing? Yeah, I get it. But if this is even in the ballpark... We're gonna see it, sir. Even if I have to punch the barrier down with my bare hands, you will stand in the sun again! I'm determined to!"

"But-"

She almost crushed his hand. "I'm not taking no for an answer. Not after all you've done for us."

He returned her intense gaze with a meek blinking, and then a smile. Perhaps if the impossible happened, it might not matter what he deserved.

**Author's Note:**

> Pastebin Version: https://pastebin.com/Hu7pgMrN
> 
> Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!


End file.
